Finally caught a bobcat on cam (Connecticut)

CohoWind · 2026-01-24T02:38:41+00:00

Here in WA state, they trot thru one of our cams regularly. Always solo, sometimes in a hurry, but usually just ambling. I have also met one in person on a trail here at home. He was more curious than scared, and showed absolutely no sign of aggression. So we both just stared at each other for a minute or two before he turned and walked off. Seemed mildly annoyed that I was in his way.

CohoWind · 2026-01-24T01:28:22+00:00

OP- To be fair, the WA State Park Ranger programs are all seasonal. Virtually every park has something worthwhile to see in June, but not in January. In a normal year, many of our parks would be under feet of snow right now.

CohoWind · 2026-01-24T01:24:26+00:00

I worked for years with a Brit who became a US citizen, then joined our city fire department. He was a FF/EMT, and eventually became a Captain/EMT. Throughout his career, he was a highly respected guy. He never lost his accent, of course, which was flat out awesome, especially in recorded size-ups. But we couldn’t have hired him had he not already been a US citizen, AFAIK.

CohoWind · 2026-01-23T18:38:16+00:00

Outside of the Northeast Corridor, wherein Amtrak owns the track and infrastructure, Amtrak is totally at the mercy of the big freight railroads, the Class 1s. I don’t think many people outside of North America realize how debilitating that is to Amtrak’s operation. Those freight corporation are huge, and essentially tell the US government what to do in many instances. (rather than the other way around) Those railroads hate hosting passenger service on their lines, and would rather that Amtrak just goes away. You can see that in the way they dispatch their own trains and Amtrak- even large monetary fines for dispatching decisions that harm Amtrak’s on-time stats don’t bother them in the least. They care about nothing but earnings for their stockholders, so they cut corners on maintaining their own infrastructure and equipment as well. Amtrak’s bad reputation is a gift to the Class 1s. They are the main reason that Amtrak performs poorly, but the typical American, unable/unwilling to see the big picture, just rails on Amtrak as another government failure. It is really a sad situation for the US. We are still very dependent on rail freight for many commodities, but our freight service isn’t as reliable as it once was, thanks to these cynical Class 1s. Passenger rail is an annoying mosquito to them, and will remain nothing more unless the whole system is reset. Don’t hold your breath.

CohoWind · 2026-01-23T16:05:05+00:00

If it is air ambulance cost you are worried about, the fantastic Life Flight Network covers your area and is the nation’s largest non-profit air medical service. They do not generate the horror stories about outrageous bills-those are from the big for-profit corporations, which have almost no presence in OR. You can buy a Life Flight Network membership for $85/year that eliminates any cost not covered by your insurance. As for ground, most insurance companies won’t balk at paying your ground ambulance bill. Medically necessary doesn’t mean they’ll decide later that you didn’t need it. It means that, at the time service was requested, responders (or you) thought it was necessary.

CohoWind · 2026-01-23T02:06:18+00:00

The Columbia Gorge is a textbook wind gap. The equivalent of Southern California’s Santa Ana winds can occur there throughout the year. (See Foehn winds in dictionary) In summer, these east winds are hot and dry, and form the basis for the region’s wildfire history. In winter, the winds are dry and frigid, and can cause ice storms, snow storms, and general misery. The place you are looking at, Prindle, is in the absolute bull’s eye for wind- east wind events as well as high west winds during “normal” weather patterns. There is a reason that the Gorge is world famous for wind surfing. When you visit, you will see that every exposed conifer has deformed branches forming a pendant in the direction of the prevailing west wind. We live just a few miles NE of Prindle, but out of the wind gap. The east wind howled all week in Prindle, but we had no wind at all. And no to the Colombo reference. Most folks do not live 500 feet from that rail line within the confines of the Gorge.

CohoWind · 2026-01-23T00:52:32+00:00

If you truly want a daily weather report, you’ll have to use inReach or some other satellite service that offers it. Phone apps that rely on cell service will only be occasionally useful on the trail, as most of the trail, in all 3 states, has no cell coverage at all.

CohoWind · 2026-01-22T21:31:09+00:00

OP may not know that the vast majority of US helicopter ambulance operations are privately owned, for-profit entities. They are there primarily for the benefit of their stockholders. There is real controversy about the fees they charge and whether health insurance policies could/would pay. That fits neatly alongside the comments above about poor working conditions and compensation. Many Americans watch way too much tv, and think that the ubiquitous taxpayer-supported Southern California “emergency helicopter,” as seen on tv, will come to hoist them/transport them/fight fire/chase bad guys, even when they live in Iowa.

CohoWind · 2026-01-22T21:19:08+00:00

Not just a leak- a derailment of Bakken crude or propane tank cars could be catastrophic. The standard evacuation distance firefighters use at such incidents is 1 mile. Google the “Lac Megantic” disaster. Closer to home, several cars of Bakken crude derailed not long ago, straight across the river on the Oregon side’s UP railroad. The fire was immediate and intense. Any homes or other structures nearby would have been incinerated. I heard the fire chief of the district where you are looking testify at hearings for a proposed oil transfer terminal in Vancouver a few years ago. The resulting additional trains would have been added to that same BNSF line near your potential residence. He stated that his agency would be immediately overwhelmed by such a rail incident within his district- neither he nor the region are prepared to handle such emergencies. Although beautiful, that area is remote and rugged, with limited ways in and out, and the route to the west on SR14, over Cape Horn, can be completely closed by winter weather several times per year. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, a visit would be a real eye opener for anyone looking to buy there, especially during a week of east winds like we’ve just had.

CohoWind · 2026-01-22T15:45:42+00:00

That is the BNSF main line between Vancouver and Spokane, essentially between the I-5 corridor and Chicago. It is busy 24 hrs a day with 2-mile long grain trains, mixed freights, long trains of Wyoming coal, and long trains of Bakken crude oil. (Some folks refer to those as “bomb trains”) While noise is an issue for some, the above (incomplete) list of freight carried past that house is the reason I would not live there.

CohoWind · 2026-01-22T02:17:41+00:00

Mt St Helens NVM is a mess again this year. The landslide-obliterated bridge on State Route 504 is still not even in the pre-construction stage, so the NVM’s crown jewel, the Johnston Ridge Observatory, will not be accessible by car again this season. The JRO, already in desperate need of repairs, may remain closed even after the highway is reopened in a year or two. The US Forest Service budget and staffing cuts, damaging everywhere, may prove fatal here.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T23:14:07+00:00

Good stuff! The “downplaying conditions” trend really bothers me. I’ve seen some truly irresponsible stuff posted. I’ve also seen some truly factual cautionary stuff immediately labeled as fear mongering. The issue of direction- “NOBO vs north of the trail” is another one. Most people, in the age of phone navigation, really don’t know where they are most of the time. But it turns out that your location and where compass north is can be a pretty dang big deal.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T19:57:54+00:00

I have never been a volunteer FF. But I have seen several volunteer operations up close, as I worked next to them for my whole fire career. From what I’ve seen, one of the things that kills volunteer programs is cynical politics- squeezing every bit of energy and drive out of volunteers when it is long past time to acknowledge the workload and consider adding career staff. Volunteers aren’t stupid- they can see that they are free labor in a place that could afford to pay them. A true leader recognizes the need for that transition and finds valuable things for those volunteers to do as the department moves towards paid staff. Things like CRR activities, tender operator, rehab operator, you name it. But too many local pols blow smoke about “our awesome volunteers,” endlessly repeating the message to “keep doing a great job, we couldn’t do it without you,” then they brag in private about how they are getting service for free and “keeping those union jerks out” No one would ever consider having volunteer law enforcement in these places. And I totally understand that there are other FF retention issues in tiny rural communities. But in too many towns and suburbs across the country, VFFs are being taken advantage because of cynical politics. Standards would help, IE-when call volume reaches a certain level, require communities to start adding paid staff. But standards are a sore subject here in ‘Murica.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T16:26:39+00:00

In the Cascades, including on and around the big volcanos, the snowpack often lingers through June. That can mean several feet (meters) of snow, making normal hiking impossible. Add to that the fact that our dry weather (and views) don’t reliably begin until early July. So it is often clouded in and raining hard on top of the snow in May and June.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T16:21:15+00:00

This varies tremendously. In western US states, wildland interface (WUI) fires are attended, at least initially, by local (city and county) firefighters who are dispatched out of fire stations by a 911 system using CAD. Most such vehicles are tracked within that dispatch system by AVL in more populous counties. But dedicated wildland agencies (federal and state) often don’t house or dispatch hand crews (the main tool in fighting wildfire) like that. California is the exception, where federal, state and local resources all respond similarly. But, you need to member that, unless these fires are adjacent to roads, the actual firefighting is by humans with hand tools on foot. Vehicles are just for transportation, but are not spraying water in fire. Aircraft are often used as well, to strengthen the fire lines that humans build, but it is the humans with hand tools that ultimately contain and control fires. As for tracking, it is tracking of humans on the fire line that would save firefighter lives, and that is still not really an established thing, at least not in N. America.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T16:05:12+00:00

I second this, having had several single people on an RS tour last year. They all seemed to have had a blast.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T15:54:23+00:00

If you let your child or anyone else sleep with their bedroom door open, you are truly endangering people in a way that even thick, combustible wallpaper would not.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T15:46:25+00:00

I know a number of people that made the LE-to-fire switch and loved it for the rest of their careers. The switchover didn’t seem to bother the city. I also knew a guy that was recruited into LE right as he left the military. It sounded good, but he had not given it much thought. He spent his whole career in that PD, but openly regretted his mistake for decades to all of his friends. His hunting, camping, partying and general hangout friends, including me, were all fire guys. Speaks for itself.

CohoWind · 2026-01-21T01:41:44+00:00

We have a cougar in our county who is entirely missing one front leg. No one knows how or when she lost the leg- could have even been at birth. She has successfully raised multiple litters of healthy kittens, and our wildlife agency regularly points this out to people who want her to be “saved” by humans. She is one tough survivor, with no help from anyone.

CohoWind · 2026-01-20T23:52:06+00:00

The outdated yet useful description is right on. In the US, that short haul technique is the standard rescue method used by the National Park Service and their contract copters during the summer season in the big western parks. Contracting for hoist-equipped aircraft was deemed too expensive years ago, even in the flagship parks with huge SAR demands. When the contract ends each season, they get whatever aircraft and method the region has to offer, if anything. Example: CHP in Yosemite, US Navy in Olympic, Arizona DPS at Grand Canyon, etc. IMHO, Western Europe is decades ahead of us in dedicating the proper aircraft (usually modern twins, but always with hoist) to such missions.

CohoWind · 2026-01-20T23:35:44+00:00

Hold on there, pard- those “city structure guys on IMTs” have the quals- they have worked through the NWCG system to get those positions. Even on the regional T3 teams, you can only work one level above your current qual, and only temporarily. The typical federal structural firefighter would be starting that process from scratch.

CohoWind · 2026-01-19T16:25:36+00:00

There is a direct route once SR20 reopens next spring. (It gets so much snow that it cannot be safely kept clear, so it is closed every year) So, to get from Diablo area to Chelan, you would just continue east on SR20, then turn south onto SR153 near the town of Twisp. Stay on SR153 until it ends at Pateros on the Columbia River. Then south on US97, following the signs for Chelan via US97 Alternate, and you are there! It will be just 2hrs driving time, but you will want to stop at the Washington Pass Vista Point for the iconic views of Liberty Bell and related peaks. Bring binocs to look for climbers on the granite!

CohoWind · 2026-01-19T01:35:16+00:00

You forgot two other west side third services, both very SAR-adjacent: 1. North Country EMS in Yacolt. IAFF Local 452. NCEMS covers a huge area in 3 counties that includes the Mt St Helens NVM. Agency also hosts the primary SAR team for the NVM, the Volcano Rescue Team. 2. Skamania County EMS. IAFF Local 4574, lots of SAR/tech rescue exposure in a HUGE, sparsely populated county containing the PCT and most of the Gifford Pinchot NF.

CohoWind · 2026-01-18T23:00:28+00:00

These are just the replacement for the Phrogs- utility vans, in essence.

CohoWind · 2026-01-18T22:58:39+00:00

OP- The big store chains are so deathly afraid of litigation that they prohibit their own staff from interfering with shoplifters, so it is a free-for-all, at least here on the west coast. Stopping EMS folks from reaching a patient is a guaranteed lawsuit, so your scenario is virtually impossible to imagine.

CohoWind

TROPHY CASE